The invention relates to a device to be assembled from modules, for the transfer of material and/or heat from one medium stream to another medium stream. For this purpose, said device is assembled from modules, each having a number of hollow fibres or tubes, the fibre walls of which define a membrane through which the material and/or heat transfer can take place. In this case one medium flows through said fibres, while the other medium flows outside said fibres, in particular even flows around said fibres.
Dutch Patent Application 9000014, which has been laid open for inspection, discloses a device of the abovementioned type which is assembled from modules. This device is such that it can be flowed through by two different medium streams. One medium flows through the fibres, while the other medium flows around the fibres. Each module has a housing which, on the one hand, defines a flow channel for the medium flowing around the fibres and, on the other hand, defines chambers into which the ends of the fibres open. On the basis of one type of module, through a suitable shape of said housing, which is a point-symmetrical square, polygonal or round shape with open front and rear side, and through a suitable arrangement of the supply and discharge orifices which open into the chambers, the device can be assembled in such a way that the direction of the fibres of the successive modules runs alternately at essentially right angles. This means that the medium flowing through the fibres in each case flows alternately in two directions running at right angles to each other, while the medium flowing outside the fibres flows in a crosswise direction to the fibres, i.e. at an angle of approximately 90.degree., which produces a particularly effective material and/or heat exchange between the two medium streams. Assembling such a device from modules means that a relatively cheap construction from standard parts can be achieved, while the size of the device, and thus its capacity, are relatively easy to increase and reduce through the use of more or fewer modules.
The object of the present invention is to provide a device for material and/or heat transfer between mediums, which device can be assembled from modules and is such that it can be flowed through by more than two, in particular three, medium streams. The object here is that the advantages of the known modular device for the throughput of two medium streams should be retained as regards the modular assembly from the smallest possible number of different basic modules, in particular a single shape for the modules, said modules simultaneously forming flow channels for all medium streams moving through them, so that through interconnection of the various modules no further separate housing is required in order to convey one or more of the medium streams.